Make it or Break it
by BelvedereLamb
Summary: "Kristoff," Elsa started, speaking slowly, "You know you're dating a queen right?" (Or in which Kristoff tells Elsa he wouldn't want to be king and doesn't realize what that would imply.) [Rated T for language, Kristoff/Elsa]
1. Chapter 1

Words: 1450  
Disclaimed

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Kristoff never would admit it, but he loved going out with Elsa. Strolling with Elsa around Arendelle, watching Elsa interact with the townspeople; Kristoff ate it up. He especially enjoyed seeing someone's eyes light up at Elsa's powers. He didn't really care about the stranger, it had more to do with how happy Elsa became when someone reacted with wonder rather than fear. Elsa made slow progress, but she definitely became more confident in her powers everyday, including the non-magical ones.

They ran into the occasional unhappy jerk, whose situation usually had nothing to do with Elsa but they blamed her anyway. Kristoff pointed this out, sometimes right in front of the person, which usually shut them right up and amused Elsa. She couldn't show it in front of a disgruntled citizen, but Kristoff could catch the gleam in her eye, the subtle upturn of her mouth. He prided himself in his ability to read Elsa, something he had difficulty with at first. Anna wore every emotion openly, but Elsa was more about subtlety.

The idiot that Elsa just finished speaking with brought up Kristoff living at the castle. The truth was he'd moved in a month ago. Anna had been begging him for much longer, but the final straw was when she brought it up around Elsa. With a light blush, Elsa told him she wouldn't mind having him closer, and that if he chose to live at the castle he could have his pick of the many empty rooms, still not filled from when the late king and queen let so many people go. Anna took advantage of Kristoff's flustered state and made arrangements. He ended up with a room not even technically connected to the castle; it was connected to the stables. Kristoff didn't think they would try to separate him from Sven, but he had still been surprised at their thoughtfulness.

Of course, the situation sparked rumors the size of a forest fire. According to gossips, not only did Kristoff live in the castle, he and Elsa lived in the same room. In some versions of the rumor, Anna shared their room as well. But the majority of them focused on Kristoff and Elsa "living in sin," and while the two could usually laugh it off, the disapproving glares weighed heavily on them. Even worse were those who decided to flag Elsa down just to insult her, tell her she drug down the entire country with her sinning ways. Even after explaining the situation, they wouldn't admit being wrong, only complain about something else. Kristoff punched a few of them, but tried to control himself. Not because he thought they didn't deserve a punch in the face, but because usually they demanded an apology. More often than not, Elsa granted them some form of apology to uphold the royal name and all that.

Kristoff always stood to the side while Elsa spoke to her citizens, and when she returned to his side they resumed walking. This time was no different. That jerk upset her, which happened more than he'd like, and he tried to stick as close to her as possible as some form of comfort. Their sides brushed every step they took. Elsa led their walk to a secluded area, which Kristoff knew from experience meant she was still frustrated and needed to decompress but couldn't do it where townspeople might see her or interrupt. Kristoff has seen her leave Anna in order to do this, and every time she allowed him to accompany her he felt drunk on happiness.

Elsa stopped, sighed, and leaned her weight against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He slouched a little so she could reach his shoulder more comfortably. After a long moment of silence, Elsa started to speak, but didn't move away.

"How long do rumors last?"

Kristoff shook his head lightly, trying not to disturb her.

"I don't know. Until they get bored, probably."

He felt her laugh and wished it was happy, even though he suspected it was more of a scornful laugh. Kristoff found her hand and laced their fingers together. Elsa squeezed his hand, so different from when they first started dating and she flinched away from his touch. Kristoff was more about touch than talk, so in those days he found himself constantly apologizing for touching her without thinking.

"Do you... think they would stop if we were married?"

Kristoff concentrated to keep himself from freezing up. That was one hell of a loaded question.

"U-um, well, I think that people like that complain about everything. They'd create new things to complain about."

Elsa only nodded. The previous comfortable silence transformed into a heavy presence, and Kristoff knew his movements were either rigid and unnatural or he was weirdly still. Not being able to see Elsa's face in this situation only made it worse. He had no idea what she was thinking, if she accepted the answer or wanted something more. His mouth ran on and on.

"I bet they'd complain about me. Can you imagine me as king? I can't even deal with the castle staff. I'd ruin Arrendelle in a day. Not that I want to be king. I never want to be king."

Elsa stiffened at this. Kristoff was happy that finally he had something to go on, but terrified because stiff was not good. He went over his rambling, but before he figured it out Elsa spoke.

"You would hate being king?"

Kristoff turned his head to look at her, confused. At his movement, she lifted her head so they were facing each other.

"Uh, yeah. Leading a country is way too much for me."

Elsa had this suspicious look on her face, but it was a new expression to Kristoff and he couldn't exactly place it.

"Kristoff," Elsa started, speaking slowly, "You know you're dating a queen, right?"

And it clicked into place.

"Marrying you means becoming king," Kristoff spoke softly, letting the meaning sink in.

Elsa pulled away from him, and he reluctantly let her tug her hand out of his. He wanted to tighten his grip, but he wouldn't force Elsa if she needed the distance. Kristoff read her expression as best as he could, but he could tell she was trying to keep a straight face. He regretted telling Elsa that her face was her biggest giveaway. Confusion... no, maybe more like... uncertainty?

And Kristoff knew that this was the moment where he should correct himself, that he didn't mean for the statement to have anything to do with marrying her, but... really, he wasn't sure. It's stupid, but he never considered it before. He liked Elsa a lot, hell, he was head over heels, but in the beginning Kristoff didn't know if their relationship would work out. Why consider a marriage when there was no way it'd get that far? And by the time he realized how amazing Elsa is, how much he _needed_ their relationship to work out, his cognitive skill were way too far gone to process that ruining a kingdom might not be worth his love life working out.

This moment was a bucket of ice water over Kristoff's head, which struck Kristoff as kinda funny, since you'd think being with Elsa would keep him cool. But this isn't the sort of thing to decide on a whim, so Kristoff told Elsa the truth.

"I... need to think about this."

Elsa shook her head, and Kristoff blinked, not knowing how to react. Elsa generally gave people their space; she sympathized with needing to be apart from others to calm down. Kristoff felt guilty, but he kind of liked that Elsa let her emotions take over with him, that only he affected her so much. Elsa paused, biting her lip, unused to stopping people like this. Something like this was more Anna's thing.

"Kristoff... Why don't we work this out together? Can't we?"

Kristoff's feet were his new focus; there was no way he could look Elsa in the face. He would give in, and if Elsa was around there's no way he would be able to even think about letting her go.

"I'm sorry."

Just seeing Elsa's expression hurt Kristoff. He watched her swallow, give him the barest nod, and back away from him. As she walked away, she carried herself with the same regal grace as always. If Kristoff hadn't seen the pain on her face, he might be fooled that she wasn't affected. Seeing her pain... it hurt, but he wouldn't lie to her. He wouldn't make a promise he couldn't keep.

But as Kristoff stood alone, he couldn't help but wonder if lying would've been better.

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AN: Kristoff lived a pretty secluded life, so I can't see him agreeing to be king and being perfectly okay with it. I don't think he's one to mince words, either. This story won't be long, and it's not a priority right now, but I hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

Words: 1404

Disclaimed

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"There are no more pressing matters, ma'am."

Elsa nodded, dismissing the servant. Her fingers twitched, but she kept her hands from clenching into fists. She took a deep breath to calm herself. After throwing herself into work for a week, her daily workload had shortened immensely. Elsa had been trying to avoid having any time to think about the Kristoff Situation too deeply. She barely made a noise as she stood from her desk and left the room. It was another thing she'd been working on. A queen must be graceful, and all the grace must look effortless.

As she walked down the hall, her mind strayed to thoughts that were all too familiar. Elsa understood why Kristoff wouldn't want to be royalty. She remembered the joy that freedom brought her; when she shunned responsibility and embraced her powers. But Elsa ruined the kingdom, leaving it frozen and without a queen. She had an obligation to return and fix what she'd done. Kristoff loved his freedom. Elsa knew how much he would miss it. But Elsa would never abdicate. Anna lived for adventure, she wanted to see the world on her own terms. It would be too cruel to force her into the throne after everything else Elsa wrecked. Catching herself biting her lip, she focused on relaxing her face. Queens must be serene.

Elsa reached the library, a welcome distraction from distressing thoughts. She adored Arendella's castle library, where books lined the walls and filled the tables. It had been opened to the public once Arendelle thawed, but few townspeople took up the offer. Elsa spent all of her free time immersed in literature. She always loved books, and they were her sole companion when she locked herself away. Books also happened to be a great distraction from the Kristoff Situation.

Alternating between fiction and nonfiction, Elsa read for hours, until exhaustion took over and she could sleep. Otherwise she wound up tossing and turning, her thoughts racing with scenarios and keeping her awake. The hopeful side of her kept finding books on royalty to read, sifting through useful and worthless information. Elsa caught herself keeping track of books that would be helpful to someone who needed a royalty crash course. Elsa tried to convince herself that this would make it worse if Kristoff refused, that it had been days, and that probably wasn't a good sign, but reminding herself every time she found a book related to ruling made her want to sob. Being hopeful was stupid, but preferable to sobbing. Eventually, Elsa concluded that she would cry if Kristoff ended it whether she was hopeful or not, and continued sorting through the books. Her advisers were all impressed with Elsa brushing up on her knowledge, anyhow.

Through reading several books on royalty, Elsa came across the subject of consorts. She had definitely heard the term prince consort before, but at the time she really didn't expect anyone to marry an ice monster, nor did anyone else in the castle. Except maybe Anna. Elsa felt like punching herself, but soon couldn't feel anything but giddy happiness. She scrambled out of her chair, alarming several nearby servants, and rushed to get materials necessary for letter writing.

* * *

Never in her life had she written anything so quickly. Elsa waited for the ink to dry and, through a ridiculous amount of self control, kept herself from blowing on the ink or attempting to freeze it dry. She didn't have a minute to waste, and ruining the letter would be the worst. The second the ink dried, Elsa folded the parchment and slid it into an envelope. She forced herself to slow down while writing the address, because it would be just her luck for the letter to arrive at the wrong place due to illegible penmanship.

She needn't have bothered, it turns out, since the door burst open with a loud bang and her hand slipped. Elsa whipped around, prepared to be angry with whoever startled her. But, to her astonishment, in stormed Kristoff. Elsa couldn't believe it. She never got to send the letter, and now Kristoff has already come to break up with her, and she'll never be able to change his mind because he's stubborn or if he does change his mind this will always hang over their heads, and—

"I love you."

Kristoff spoke the words quietly, but with conviction. Everything within a foot of Elsa froze over. Kristoff didn't seem to notice, not for a second tearing his gaze away from Elsa's eyes. He walked slowly, each step filled with certainty and purpose. When he reached Elsa, he immediately reached out and held both her hands in his. Elsa, still in a stupor, froze his hands as well. Kristoff grinned at the reaction.

"You haven't frozen my hands in forever."

Her cheeks flushed from embarrassment, and she was tempted to see if the ice would melt on its own from how warm she felt. Elsa was almost too happy to focus on melting the ice. How could she possibly focus on anything other than the fact that Kristoff was here and he loved her. Kristoff loved her. Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She calmed down enough to unfreeze their hands. Kristoff leaned in and gave her an Eskimo kiss. Elsa smiled and pulled him down so she could rest her forehead against his, unwilling to break the first contact they've had in so long.

"You used to freeze my hands all the time, when we first started going out."

"I remember."

And unfortunately, she did. It was a very embarrassing part of their relationship to her, and she wished he would never bring it up. But he did. Often. They stood there in silence for awhile, holding hands and touching foreheads. Eventually, Elsa knew they had to talk this out, so she whispered.

"You love me?"

"Mmm. I don't think, I mean, without you, it was just—" Kristoff huffed, frustrated with himself, and started again. "I'm not good with words. But thinking about this without you made me realize how impossible it is to be without you."

Elsa was officially living proof that people couldn't die of happiness.

"You interrupted me."

She felt his eyebrows crinkle together, and it was... weird, but the good kind of weird. Elsa felt too happy than she knew how to describe.

"I'm sorry?"

"I just finished writing a letter. I was almost ready to send it to you."

Kristoff pulled away from her, though not letting go of her hands. He was worried, obviously. Elsa responded to his confession by telling him about a letter. He looked really cute when he was worried. She could see his eyebrows now, knitted together, and he was biting his lip. She wondered if she caught the habit from him. Kristoff continued looking confused, so she pulled herself from her thoughts to respond.

"In the letter, I explained," She paused to peck him on the lips, "what I learned about prince consorts recently," Another peck, "because I think you'd be interested in the subject."

This time Kristoff kissed her, but rather than a peck it was a full blown kiss. It turned into several kisses, and eventually she nipped his lip for getting her off track. Also for possibly giving her a bad habit. It wasn't much of a punishment; he looked very pleased.

"As I was saying," Elsa gave him a pointed look, "the letter was about prince consorts. Basically, it's when someone marries a queen but doesn't rule."

Kristoff blinked. His expression communicated 'are you kidding me' perfectly. Eventually he sighed, and pulled her closer to him. He bent down to put his head on Elsa's shoulder.

"Are you saying we had a relationship crisis for nothing?"

"Sorry, I should've known. I'm the one that brought it up, even."

Kristoff nuzzled the side of her neck.

"S'not your fault. Plus," Kristoff tilted his head so he spoke into her ear, "now I know that you'll say yes when I propose."

Elsa tugged his head up and kissed him, hard. He smiled into the kiss, she could feel it and it made her smile too. Both of them smiling turned it into an awkward kiss, but neither cared in the least.

"Don't you think this is actually you saying yes to my proposal?"

Kristoff laughed.

"Then I get to pick the date."

* * *

**AN:** I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. It's been months, I know, I'm sorry D:

I don't think Elsa would pester Kristoff. Elsa knows how important it is to give people their space... unlike Anna. Who is conveniently traveling in this story. (One day I'll write my headcanon for Anna and Kristoff's breakup. One day.) Anyway, I don't think Elsa has enough confidence to go demand anything, and she's too much of a realist to declare her love and expect it to work out.  
I think Elsa would slowly regain confidence the more she spends time around people who love her, powers and all, but she grew up thinking she was a freak and that doesn't just go away. Which is where the "Elsa never thought she would get married" line comes from. I would love to expand upon that and write a story where she tells Kristoff about it.  
Another headcanon mentioned in this story is Elsa freezing Kristoff's hands when they first start dating. I wrote as though Elsa's powers go out of control even with positive(ish) emotions, even though her powers react more to negative emotions. I can see her freezing Kristoff's hands for positive or negative reasons, or both.

Maybe readers can tell me which story they want next? Or suggest your own idea/prompt!

Elsa telling Kristoff about never thinking she'd marry anyone  
Elsa freezing Kristoff's hands (also if you think her powers should only react to negative emotions)  
The Anna Kristoff breakup headcanon (which is fairly cordial)

And thanks for reading!


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